Trade Idea Thread II

[Ranma]

I just noticed on Clippers TopBuzz that the team may be interested in D-Leaguers Brady Heslip and Khem Birch. Despite his stroke, I'm not impressed with Heslip as he is undersized at 6'2" as a one-dimensional spot up shooter with what looks like little to no quickness relative to his size. I'd rather go after Jimmer Fredette since he could at least create his own shot at the same size. Heslip looks like a miniature version of Steve Novak.

Birch seems like a more promising fit for this team even as we could use more established talent. He and the likes of Toure' Murry or Glen Rice, Jr. could get consideration should the team package Crawford and Farmar for a small forward.

Trisity Miller, FullyClips.com (12/27/14)

According to Chris Reichert of RidiculousUpside.com, SB Nation’s site dedicated to covering the NBA Development League, the Clippers have expressed interest forward Khem Birch.
[tweet]https://twitter.com/Chris_Reichert/status/548570095023181824[/tweet]
An unknown entity to the average NBA fan (and myself), Birch, a Canadian-born player, is a 6’9 forward who spent three seasons at the University of Pittsburgh (’11-12) and Nevada-Las Vegas (’12-14). In his final collegiate year, Birch averaged 11.5 points on 51 percent shooting, 10.2 rebounds, and 3.8 blocks per game.
...

In the D-League, Birch has made a name for himself as one of the leagues best players, averaging 15.2 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.4 blocks through 14 games.

Rumor: Clippers interested in D-League forward Khem Birch


Trisity Miller, FullyClips.com (12/31/14)

Looks like Brady Heslip has had a change of plans. According to Marc Stein of ESPN, Heslip has agreed to stay D-League bound as he nears a call-up in the NBA.
[tweet]https://twitter.com/ESPNSteinLine/status/550301012389814275[/tweet]
Along with the Clippers, the Kings are also listed as one of the teams interested in the D-League’s leading scorer.

CLIPPERS RUMORS: For the second time in less than a week, the Clippers have been rumored to have interest in a D-League player. According to D-League Digest, Los Angeles were interested in guard Brady Heslip in regards to a call-up prior to Heslip agreeing to a deal with Turkish club Banvit.
[tweet]https://twitter.com/DLeagueDigest/status/549402572466163712[/tweet]

Clippers Rumors: Is D-League star Brady Heslip on their radar?

[Neddy]

I guess this means the end of the road for Cunningham as a clipper.

[ejftw]

Watching the Suns play, I'm feeling like crying that we asked for Dudley over PJ Tucker. Tucker would have been the perfect three for us.

[LACtdom]

It's depressing that besides Josh Smith, all the rumours for us have been about getting 'nothing' players in the hope that they are good.

[nickhx2]

What's really depressing is that ballmer signed doc to be our gm for the next several years and there's no mercy in sight.

Say goodbye to our first rounders. Say goodbye to any shot at young talent. Say hello to myriad, over the hill veterans year in and year out as doc tries to repeat his pj brown glory years.

The clippers championship checklist basically reads like this now:

1. Is the spurs core still together? Skip ahead to next year.
2. Is marc gasol surrounded by tough defenders? Skip ahead to next year.
3. Is durant still in the western conference? Skip ahead to next year.
4. Is stephen curry's ankle intact? Skip ahead to next year.
5. Is lebron still in the NBA? Skip ahead to next year.

...
...

20. None of the above true? Congratulations, your window is now wide open. Let's just hope cp3 isn't 37 and blake isn't playing like amare's skeletal remains in the time you were waiting.

Doc's tossing horseshoes blindfolded hoping to god he signs a vet who magically rediscovers his youth from 10 years before. You can't build a team like that with all the powerhouses in this league. I'm not really a pessimistic guy but things continue to look more and more grim when we tread water as everyone else improves.

[QRich3]

What's really depressing is that ballmer signed doc to be our gm for the next several years and there's no mercy in sight.

Say goodbye to our first rounders. Say goodbye to any shot at young talent. Say hello to myriad, over the hill veterans year in and year out as doc tries to repeat his pj brown glory years.

The clippers championship checklist basically reads like this now:

1. Is the spurs core still together? Skip ahead to next year.
2. Is marc gasol surrounded by tough defenders? Skip ahead to next year.
3. Is durant still in the western conference? Skip ahead to next year.
4. Is stephen curry's ankle intact? Skip ahead to next year.
5. Is lebron still in the NBA? Skip ahead to next year.

...
...

20. None of the above true? Congratulations, your window is now wide open. Let's just hope cp3 isn't 37 and blake isn't playing like amare's skeletal remains in the time you were waiting.

Doc's tossing horseshoes blindfolded hoping to god he signs a vet who magically rediscovers his youth from 10 years before. You can't build a team like that with all the powerhouses in this league. I'm not really a pessimistic guy but things continue to look more and more grim when we tread water as everyone else improves.

I'm the first to sh*t on Doc for his lack of long term vision, but I think some of you just ask for too much. It'd be awesome if he could just trade Crawford foe Paul George and solve all of our problems, but things aren't that easy in real life. Our depth problems, and our wing defense problems, come from before Doc was here, from right after the Paul trade, and they're pretty much impossible to solve while we're over the tax. We've been plugging several patches into the SF like Gomes, Butler, Dudley, etc. because you can't just sign whoever you want for the money you want under a salary cap. It's unfair to ask of Doc to have solved that already.

Truth is, the West is a bloodbath and only one team gets out of it. OKC has probably more talent than we do, they have a generational superstar, and they've won exactly as many championships as we've done. Memphis has possibly the best interior game of the last decade and have won just the same as we have. The Warriors are supposed to be this awesome balanced team with no flaws yet we got out of the first round more than they have. Same for Portland and Houston. It's just really difficult to get out of the conference and I don't think blaming Doc for all of that is fair.

Now when we're a lottery team in 5 years, without picks, capspace or any player with trade value, that's when we can blame Doc for pissing away assets.

[mattd13]

have to agree with qrich3. we would all love to get a great player at the 3 spot. getting it done without breaking up the core is the problem. the west is tough and it will take an exceptional effort for any team to make it to the finals. health, luck, and the refs will all play a big part.

[BleedGreen1989]

Celtic fan coming in peace,

What are your thoughts on a deal based around Jeff Green and Brandan Wright for Deandre?

[QRich3]

Celtic fan coming in peace,

What are your thoughts on a deal based around Jeff Green and Brandan Wright for Deandre?

Not sure everyone's gonna agree with me, but I've said repeatedly that it makes no sense to cover our SF hole by leaving another one open at C, and a bigger one at that. Wright is a great back-up C but he can't play 30+ minutes, and he can't anchor a defense. He can't rebound at a 30%+ rate, so we can't run our current system where everyone but DJ gets out quickly on transition, and everyone but DJ gets back quickly on defense. Hawes is even worse than him at that stuff, so we'd be left with a good perimeter rotation but an awful defense and big change in our dynamic. Plus, Green+Wright make nearly $15M, to match salaries we'd probably have to cut Barnes or Crawford, which is letting go of another core piece.

I really doubt DJ is gonna be traded unless it's for a game changer (Horford or something like that), which I doubt anyone will give for an expiring.

[Andrew McCeltic]

Celtic fan coming in peace,

What are your thoughts on a deal based around Jeff Green and Brandan Wright for Deandre?

Not sure everyone's gonna agree with me, but I've said repeatedly that it makes no sense to cover our SF hole by leaving another one open at C, and a bigger one at that. Wright is a great back-up C but he can't play 30+ minutes, and he can't anchor a defense. He can't rebound at a 30%+ rate, so we can't run our current system where everyone but DJ gets out quickly on transition, and everyone but DJ gets back quickly on defense. Hawes is even worse than him at that stuff, so we'd be left with a good perimeter rotation but an awful defense and big change in our dynamic. Plus, Green+Wright make nearly $15M, to match salaries we'd probably have to cut Barnes or Crawford, which is letting go of another core piece.

I really doubt DJ is gonna be traded unless it's for a game changer (Horford or something like that), which I doubt anyone will give for an expiring.

I could see Boston including Tyler Zeller if they had assurances Jordan would re-up. Zeller's a tremendous value right now, though..

As for your team, though- you could re-sign both guys and get an MLE center- there are so many on the market this summer someone good will slip into the bargain bin..

[QRich3]

With all due respect to Wright, Zeller, Hawes, and the Mozgov's of the world that could maybe be gotten for the MLE next summer, those are middle of the road players that I don't think will ever be the starting C on a championship team, unless something very unlikely happens. With Jordan you have a guy that could be an important piece on any contender, and the potential for much more.

Crowding the position with several mediocre players is what we've been doing at SF for a few years, to cover that position but start doing the same on a much more talent-rare position like C, it'd be a step back. I don't think there's a way that Jordan is gonna be traded unless a better C than him comes back, and I don't think anyone's gonna send that our way.

[Wammy Giveaway]

have to agree with qrich3. we would all love to get a great player at the 3 spot. getting it done without breaking up the core is the problem. the west is tough and it will take an exceptional effort for any team to make it to the finals. health, luck, and the refs will all play a big part.

They'll have to risk it. The only way the Clippers can get a small forward is to give up somebody they truly love. By wasting away their assets, Doc Rivers has turned DeAndre Jordan into trade bait.

The question we need to ask now is, which weakness should we be fine with:

1) Lack of depth in general, forcing long minutes for the starters with at least one starter on at all times
2) Bad small forward roster, forcing 1s, 2s and 4s (including Griffin) to masquerade as a small forward
3) No potent big men, resulting in small ball

You basically trade away one strength and weakness for another if you're giving somebody up, whether it's Jordan, Redick or Crawford. You're also risking a first round exit if your small forward is just a motley crew of bench players being asked to band aid the spot. That's like Willie Green playing in place of Chauncey Billups.

The only way no trades even take place is if DeAndre Jordan makes the All Star Game. The concept is you need three superstars to get deep into the playoffs. One superstar acts as one free pass to the next round. With Paul and Griffin, they're good enough for a conference finals appearance. The problem is that there's always something preventing them from getting past the second round. If DJ gets an All Star Selection, it'll mean that no wrong can ever happen just because he has three superstars. "Who cares if my bench and my small forward are wack, I have three superstars."

Instead of luck, they're betting on friendship and loyalty to win a championship - completely different from trust, team chemistry and discipline. Gregg Popovich has mastered that, Doc has not. Are the Clippers going to win a championship just because they finally got rid of the evil Donald Sterling, thereby influencing the refs to rig certain games as a way of a free ride? It doesn't work that way.

[mattd13]

I do not see doc trading dj. I think he may try to get a solid defensive guy who can help matt guard the good 3's when needed by giving up 2nd unit players. not the core guys. I personally think dj does not play hard all the time and misses rotations way to much. if the clips are to have a real chance in the playoffs he has to be a game changer every night. I think doc is gambling on that and it is a big risk. hope dj decides to step up.

[ejftw]

With Dally bought out/waived, if he clears, wonder if we can deal Hawes + CDR/Cunningham/whatever for Gerald Henderson and sign Dally?

[Forte IV]

Gerald Henderson is undersized. Even with his athleticism I wouldn't want him as the starting 3.

[nickhx2]

What's really depressing is that ballmer signed doc to be our gm for the next several years and there's no mercy in sight.

Say goodbye to our first rounders. Say goodbye to any shot at young talent. Say hello to myriad, over the hill veterans year in and year out as doc tries to repeat his pj brown glory years.

The clippers championship checklist basically reads like this now:

1. Is the spurs core still together? Skip ahead to next year.
2. Is marc gasol surrounded by tough defenders? Skip ahead to next year.
3. Is durant still in the western conference? Skip ahead to next year.
4. Is stephen curry's ankle intact? Skip ahead to next year.
5. Is lebron still in the NBA? Skip ahead to next year.

...
...

20. None of the above true? Congratulations, your window is now wide open. Let's just hope cp3 isn't 37 and blake isn't playing like amare's skeletal remains in the time you were waiting.

Doc's tossing horseshoes blindfolded hoping to god he signs a vet who magically rediscovers his youth from 10 years before. You can't build a team like that with all the powerhouses in this league. I'm not really a pessimistic guy but things continue to look more and more grim when we tread water as everyone else improves.

I'm the first to sh*t on Doc for his lack of long term vision, but I think some of you just ask for too much. It'd be awesome if he could just trade Crawford foe Paul George and solve all of our problems, but things aren't that easy in real life. Our depth problems, and our wing defense problems, come from before Doc was here, from right after the Paul trade, and they're pretty much impossible to solve while we're over the tax. We've been plugging several patches into the SF like Gomes, Butler, Dudley, etc. because you can't just sign whoever you want for the money you want under a salary cap. It's unfair to ask of Doc to have solved that already.

Truth is, the West is a bloodbath and only one team gets out of it. OKC has probably more talent than we do, they have a generational superstar, and they've won exactly as many championships as we've done. Memphis has possibly the best interior game of the last decade and have won just the same as we have. The Warriors are supposed to be this awesome balanced team with no flaws yet we got out of the first round more than they have. Same for Portland and Houston. It's just really difficult to get out of the conference and I don't think blaming Doc for all of that is fair.

Now when we're a lottery team in 5 years, without picks, capspace or any player with trade value, that's when we can blame Doc for pissing away assets.

I'm not sure where it's implied I'm focusing on wing issues. In fact when I wrote the post that wasn't really on my mind. My issue has to do with the guy being the larry brown version of GM's: someone who, when presented with young talent of any sort, tries to kill it with fire.

I thought bringing dudley in was a good move. Redick a great one. Granger and davis pretty good, mullens an awful one (though i can't blame him for trying). But my point is that playing veteran roulette can't be the only aspect of creating a roster. And that's pretty much how he's been running the team while throwing all our first rounders off a cliff or locking them in a jail cell.

I'm not asking to trade crawford for a superstar. I'm not asking for us to have all-star talent from the 1 to the 5. But using most of your MLE on matt barnes when he sucked last year? Then not giving bullock ANY burn until now (and even then barely)? Lighting first rounders on fire just to erase previous mistakes? He's running some bad business here.

[LACtdom]

I'm starting to question how a new SF will fix our problems. Barnes isn't a great scorer but like everyone says, offence isn't our problem. Either way we are still going to have JJ or JC as a liability on defense. Paul, Barnes & DJ are all good one on one defenders. It's our team defense which sucks. Giving up a good defender + players for a slightly better defender may not improve our team D as much as getting a defensive SG and better bench players. Maybe I'm wrong and a player like Jeff Green will improve our Team D and our bench?

[nickhx2]

Unless he was 1st or 2nd team defense, i don't think a new SF would fix any of our defensive issues.

You can't play crawford major minutes and expect to have a good defense when you don't bother to sign other defenders to help him out. Like honestly, you're playing jamal crawford, spencer hawes, hedo turkoglu and jordan farmar on the same team? Doc got what he paid for and that's a garbage dump of a defensive team.

In boston he had one of the smartest players in the league doing everything for him defensively in KG. Here in LA we have DJ, and what's unnerving is that despite all the praise he gets as a good defender, i routinely see him bite on silly fakes, chase after blocks, and find himself out of position in really standard defensive spots. If doc's relying on DJ to be his KG then we've got a huge problem cause there's no way DJ can cover for whatever deficiencies doc's crown jewel signings are providing.

[og15]

Celtic fan coming in peace,

What are your thoughts on a deal based around Jeff Green and Brandan Wright for Deandre?

Not sure everyone's gonna agree with me, but I've said repeatedly that it makes no sense to cover our SF hole by leaving another one open at C, and a bigger one at that. Wright is a great back-up C but he can't play 30+ minutes, and he can't anchor a defense. He can't rebound at a 30%+ rate, so we can't run our current system where everyone but DJ gets out quickly on transition, and everyone but DJ gets back quickly on defense. Hawes is even worse than him at that stuff, so we'd be left with a good perimeter rotation but an awful defense and big change in our dynamic. Plus, Green+Wright make nearly $15M, to match salaries we'd probably have to cut Barnes or Crawford, which is letting go of another core piece.

I really doubt DJ is gonna be traded unless it's for a game changer (Horford or something like that), which I doubt anyone will give for an expiring.

Supposedly Horford + Carroll was discussed earlier, but any chance of that died with how Atlanta has performed and Horford's pec muscles blowing up is still scary. DJ is still an iron man.

[og15]

I'm starting to question how a new SF will fix our problems. Barnes isn't a great scorer but like everyone says, offence isn't our problem. Either way we are still going to have JJ or JC as a liability on defense. Paul, Barnes & DJ are all good one on one defenders. It's our team defense which sucks. Giving up a good defender + players for a slightly better defender may not improve our team D as much as getting a defensive SG and better bench players. Maybe I'm wrong and a player like Jeff Green will improve our Team D and our bench?

Not only does length and defense need to be added at SF, if Doc is going to use stupid 5 man bench lineups, Hawes needs to be paired with an athletic, shot blocking and defensive PF, not Glen Davis. You also can't play Hedo at SF with Hawes and Davis for example.

If you're playing Farmar, Jamal and Hawes, then your SF and C need to be defensive guys.

EG: Farmar/Jamal/Bullock/Udoh/Hawes

Obviously they think Udoh sucks, so the goal is to find a player that fits the role, they don't need to be that good.